Yesterday I wrote about Obamacare’s impact on health insurance premiums in North Dakota, noting that the controversial health law is going to mean fewer choices and more expense for citizens of the state.

Today, courtesy of the Wall Street Journal, we have more details of the impact on cost. The paper compares “insurance premiums for the lowest-cost ‘bronze’ plan for a 27-year-old single person with the current lowest-cost option for a man in a metro area in 36 states where the federal government will oversee exchanges.”

What we see from the comparison is a big, big increase in even the lowest-cost health insurance option under Obamacare.

Currently the lowest-cost premium in North Dakota is $47/month. Under Obamacare, the lowest-cost “bronze” level health insurance plan will be $175/month. That’s a 272% increase.

Yesterday Obama spokesman Jay Carney told reporters that the Obama administration didn’t compare premiums on the new health insurance exchanges with current real-world costs because it wouldn’t be a fair comparison. What he meant is that under Obamacare there are mandates in place that inflate costs.

As the Journal explains, “New federal requirements will require carriers to price insurance equally regardless of consumers’ medical history or gender and will offer more generous coverage and more benefits than current plans may offer.”

That may be a good deal for the sick, who cannot be denied coverage and who must be covered at the same premium level as someone who is healthy. And maybe a policy with a broader sort of coverage will work better for some citizens.

But there is no question that these mandates make health insurance costs less flexible, and a lot higher.

Update:At ForbesAvik Roy runs the numbers a little differently, but still comes up with a big increase for both men and women. In North Dakota, 163%